About Steve R.

Steve R.’s Comments

Sony simply made the mistake of taking on someone (North Korea) who had the capability to fight back. One piece of collateral damage was the release of some of Sony's private documents. One might have sympathy for Sony if they had respect for the privacy and property rights of their customers. Sony doesn't. What goes around comes around. It came to Sony.

Regretfully, this impractical solution by the Post is only the tip of the iceberg, that just happened to be tech related.

But the world is bigger than tech. Recently, Biden made (truthful) remarks critical of Turkey. Now Biden has been forced to apologize for his supposed "gaffe". We are living in the world of Orwell's NewSpeak.

The definition of "legal" seems to be a unitary corporate definition not subject to the judicial process. Technically, those asserting that content that is being transmitted is not legal would need to go to a court to get a "restraining" order of some sort. I seriously doubt that is the intent since the legal process is viewed as an impediment by the content industry.

Obama has publicly stated he is not after regime change in Syria. Yet Obama proposed to aide the rebels in various manners with their overthrow of Assad. Obama is being deceitful with the American public.

The Obama administration appears to lack "evidence" concerning the Benghazi attack by terrorists. Amazingly, the Obama administration has the (selective) capability to acquire "evidence that Assad used chemical weapons.

Conversely, rumors abound that it was the rebels who instituted the chemical weapons discharge in Syria. So what has US surveillance snooping disclosed concerning the rebels?

Given all of our vaunted surveillance technology why does the US apparently lack a real smoking-gun? Seems that the facts are being massaged for political gain, not to get to the truth.

Fundamentally, blaming games is politically expedient and has a veneer to populist acceptance (nothing is my fault, I am a victim) that focuses of ever more repressive laws as so-called "solutions". Following the recent deaths of Lane, and Belton; the Fox News pundits finally got one right.

They have blamed the increased violence on a breakdown in the family with a growing subculture of thuggery. The Fox News pundits, much to their credit, did dismiss violent video games as a cause of increased violence.

Unfortunately, neither the media nor the politicians will want to or be able sell the decline in American culture as being the cause of increased violence. It would run counter to faux growing need of legislation to protect us from so-called harm and there would not enough votes.

The Obama administration continues to "enforce" the law in an arbitrary capricious whimsical manner. NPR reported: "On Tuesday, immigration asylum officers found that all nine had credible fear of persecution or torture in their birth country and could therefore not be immediately removed.". 'Dream 9' Activists Released From Immigration Detention. So if these people face the fear of persecution, surly Snowden does.

While not specifically a US incident, Jordan granted asylum to a Syrian pilot that "stole" a Syrian jet to defect to Jordan.
Here is what the Obama administration stated according to CNN

"Tommy Vietor, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, said, "We welcome this pilot's decision to do the right thing. We have long called for the military and members of the Syrian regime to defect and abandon their positions rather than be complicit in the regime's atrocities.

"This is just one of countless instances where Syrians, including members of the security forces, have rejected the horrific actions of the Assad regime, and it certainly will not be the last."

So the Obama adminstration, on one hand, encourages the committing of illegal acts and claims that stealing and defecting is doing the right thing; but then when it comes to Snowden and Manning they claim that vile traitors acts were committed.

Considering that many governments and small businesses are financially strapped; they should consider open source software such a LibreOffice. Most employees usually use "basic" programs, such as word processing or a spreadsheet. There is virtually no economic justification to buy an MS Office Suite with a lot of unnecessary features.

One of my daughters is in college. While home for the summer she signed-up for an on-line course. Not only did she have to pay an exorbitant price for a digital book, but she had to pay a shipping charge!!!! Like geo-blocking this is absurd.

Normally when you buy a product, you acquire the property right to use that product. Now the "sellers" claim that you are only "leasing" that product and if you violate the "Terms of Service" that they can take an adverse action against you. But it only gets worse, these companies are begging to obtain the police powers of the State to criminalize and enforce a violation of the "Terms of Service"

To think that Obama received a Noble Peace prize by simply being elected without actually having accomplished anything to promote world peace

Furthermore, Obama has kept the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan going (though we have recently withdrawn from Iraq). Now he is arming the Syrian rebels which will keep that civil war going, which will raise the body count. Obama is not accomplishing anything that would promote world peace.

When did the US government ever return a Soviet/Russian/Chinese/North Korean spy who defected to the US?

While not a direct US issue, Jordan granted asylum to a Syrian pilot who "stole" his airplane by flying into Jordan.

CNN reported: "Tommy Vietor, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, said, "We welcome this pilot's decision to do the right thing. We have long called for the military and members of the Syrian regime to defect and abandon their positions rather than be complicit in the regime's atrocities." So the US supports "illegal" acts on one hand, but then capriciously condemns them on the other hand. Outrageous.

Spending billions to "stop" someone from killing Americans will be a never ending cycle. Pakistani Taliban (June 23, 2013) killed nine in "retaliation" for US drone strikes. Will the US now increase the number of drone strikes in retaliation?